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Low Fuel Engine Light

If you want to find out how far you can go with out having to push the bike, buy a little fuel can and take it with you. Then go ride till you run out of gas. I have a little fuel cylinder made for carrying coleman fuel when your backpacking. It holds about 1/3 of a gallon, that should be enough to get you to a gas station in an emergency. I take it with me when I'm out on long rides in the mountain country of Montana. Sometimes you just never know where the next gas station will be out there.

On the EFI bikes the fuel pump is in the tank. The fuel pump is cooled by being covered with gas.

If you run the bike low on gas you can burn up the fuel pump which is lots of bucks.
 
Hmm, my flh gets about 130 miles on a 5 gal tank. however I too tend to "over rev", jack rabbit start, and average 80 mph on the freeway. Just jetted down to an 80 on the primary jet (stroker) from 84, doesn't seem to have made much difference. Of course it's tuned by ear right now. may get better with a proper tuning.
 
When I first read this thread - I thought my mpg was absolutely rubbish :small3d012:. Then I realized your US gallons are smaller than ours. Phew.
Almost every measurement here is metric now anyway.........:D:D So my fuel efficiency ain't so bad afterall even though I still dislike my drama queen low fuel light.
 
Re: Low Fuel Light

If you get more than 150 out of a tank of gas,,,,,,, your NOT riding a sporty the way it should be riden!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In town I get about 30mpg on the hiway I can get 54 "ride it like you stole it"

makes me wonder how I am am riding mine when I got it as low as 36 mpg. We best not discuss the paticulars of that ride. Lets just say I was never passed.
 
Actually fuel guages are "okay", but are a must for most modern bikes with fuel injection have "done away" with the reserve position on the fuel petcock...so you MUST rely on the guage...so name your poison. Most use neither and just use their odometer knowing their approx. fuel range and from calculating their fuel economy while doing so. It will also help you troubleshoot if your mileage drops 6-8 mpg or so from the norm.

If you run out of fuel with carb it sputters, but usually you can go to reserve before the engine dies. But fuel injection, I guess takes too much time between the first sputter running out of fuel, to turning the valve to reserve, and trying to start the fuel injection system that now has air fumes and may lose its' "prime" unable to pump gas in before the engine dies completely. I think that is why EFI equipped bikes do not have reserve position for their fuel petcocks and are usually vacumn operated as well (for safety in the event of a tip over and the engine dies). Either way, you will get used to it...BUT I would use the odometer...remembering of course to reset at least one of the mileage odometers to zero at fill up. I always refill at 145 mi if city and high mixed, 150-160 mi depending on how sure I am of finding a fueling stop...trying to avoid going to reserve and worrying about it.
 
On the EFI bikes the fuel pump is in the tank. The fuel pump is cooled by being covered with gas.

If you run the bike low on gas you can burn up the fuel pump which is lots of bucks.
That's interesting. Don't take this the wrong way, but is that a fact, or just something you've heard? I've never heard that before.
 
That's interesting. Don't take this the wrong way, but is that a fact, or just something you've heard? I've never heard that before.

It is a fact that on any in tank mounted elect. fuel pump you shorten the life if you run them dry .the motor can overheat and more importantly the pump itself is plastic and not meant to run dry.Generally you can tell if someone has run them dry a few times ,if you listen you can hear them squeal
 
It is a fact that on any in tank mounted elect. fuel pump you shorten the life if you run them dry .the motor can overheat and more importantly the pump itself is plastic and not meant to run dry.Generally you can tell if someone has run them dry a few times ,if you listen you can hear them squeal
Thanks guys for that, that's good to know,and not something I would have ever thought about until it broke. Not that I'm in the habit of running dry but you would think they would mention that in the owners manual right around this.
 

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Went for a 400 mile ride today. The 2X's I rode to til the "low fuel light" came on I got 149.9 & 140.2 respectively. I got 48.8 with the first tank, & 47 the second. Tracy
 
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